For what seems like the first time since Annika Sorenstam was dominating the tour, ESPN cares about the LPGA for reasons other than what Michelle Wie is up to.

This event comes thanks to 14-year-old Alexis Thompson's opening round 65 at the the Navistar Classic (which is being replayed on Golf Channel tonight). She was the leader in the clubhouse for awhile before Janice Moodie carded a 64.

Wie, by the way, shot a 66, which was hardly even mentioned by the anchors. I'm speechless.

Getting the LPGA more respect starts with getting a hold of the fair weather sports fan, who help pad TV ratings. Just look at how many tune in to watch Tiger Woods events versus non-Tiger events on the PGA Tour. You need the mainstream "bump" and not just the niche fans to attract major sponsors.

The "chicken or egg" conundrum for the LPGA is that the fair weather sports fan follows ESPN for the majority of their coverage, and ESPN's strategy in recent years seems to have slanted towards covering only major, larger-than-life phenoms or sideshows - and covering them to death. Their obsession with Brett Favre is an obvious example. A better one is that they give more airtime to Terrell Owens' agent Drew Rosenhaus than they give the dominant, "shut-up-and-play" wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald.

Sadly for Fitzgerald, he repeatedly makes the marketing mistake of handing the ball to the refs rather than river-dancing around the end zone with pom-poms after a touchdown. Coupled with the fact he doesn't complain about his quarterback or star in VH-1 reality shows, well it's really the media coverage kiss of death.

And follow the NHL through ESPN, you'd think the league only has two players that can stand up on skates: Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, but I digress...

It looks like in order for the LPGA to crack into the mainstream, they need a phenom of their own doing the incredible. The sports world is gushing over Thompson today, even though she has been on the radar since the 2007 U.S. Open in golf circles and the fact she's contending in a tournament is really no surprise, considering she was on the leaderboard at the U.S. Open earlier this year before fading on the weekend.

It will likely take a Thompson or Wie emergence into dominance in order for the media outlets to really start following the LPGA again. If on Sunday, both Thompson and Wie are paired together and vying for their first LPGA win, well that's going to really move the needle. Finally.

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